Stalk shredder hammer and spacer



Feb. 23, 1954 sAWYER 2,669,819

STALK SHREDDER HAMMER AND SPACER Filed Oct. 1'7, 1951 TIE: 4-

INVENTQR.

fiKAIQIK/(AQ SAY/V5 Patented Feb. 23, 1954 UNITED S'TATES FATENT OFFICE 2,669,819 sr'ALKsnREDnER HAMMER"AND SPACER)" Frederick D; Sawyer, Wayne, Mich., assigno'r to De'a'rborn Motors Corporation,- Birmingham Mich, a'corporaticn of Delaware Application October 17, 1951, Serial No; 251,751

1 Claim.- (Cl. 55-'1-18):

i The present invention relates to a hammer assemblyfor a stalk shredder and'more particularly to'such a hammer assemblyprovided'withresili ent means for accommodating independentrelativeflateral move'mentbi the hammers;

Thestalk-shreddcrs oi the prior art typically comprises rotary flail assembly enclosed with an open bottomedcasing, the flail assembly includinga plurality" of aligned individually" mounted hammers disposed upon a rotatable shaft; The hammers are mounted on" the shaft for rotation thereon andare free for movement in a plane radial to the associated shaft, so that the harm m'ers, though normally held outwardly by eentrih ugal force; arefree to swing in the radial plane uponcontact with the ground. The hammers are held against lateral movement, i. e., movement axially of "the shaft, by rigid spacer collars, and.

the hammers have been frequently bent and brokenupon'contacting'the ground or other object tending toforce thchammers laterally. This problem is particularly acute where the shredder is inclined*"to'-its pathof trav'elyi. e., where th vertical plane of hammer-travel is inclinedtothe path of tractor movement, and suchin clined shredders have not prov-edpracticaldue to hammer breakage, even though improved ground area coverage may be obtained in this manner.

The present invention now provides an improved hammer assembly for a stalk shredder including resilient means normally biasing the hammers to a true radial position, but accommodating relative independent lateral movement of the hammers to reduce breakage thereof under operating conditions. More particularly, the present invention comprises spring means interposed between adjacent hammers, the spring means being resiliently deflectable to accommodate lateral hammer movement. Two different types of springs may be utilized to provide such deflection, namely, either a compression coil spring or a leaf-typ spring.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide an improved hammer assembly for the stalk shredder having resilient means for accommodating independent lateral deflection of the hammers.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a hammer assembly for a stalk shredder including spaced independently movable hammers and spring means interposed between adjacent hammers for resilient reflection to accommodate lateral hammer movement.

It is a further object to provide a hammer assembly for a stalk shredder including spaced relatively' movable hammers disposed 'ona rota-table shaft and a coilsprin'g confined between adjacenthamrriers and resiliently defle'ctabl-e to accommo date independent relative lateral hammer move 'ment.

Yet anotherimportant object isthe provisions of a hammer assemblyfor a stalk shredder including spaced relatively movable hammers disposed on a rotatable shaft and leaf springs interposed The specific nature of this invention; as 'well as other objects and advantages thereof, will "be-' come apparent to thoseskilled inthe art from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunc-- tion with the attached sheet of dra'wings onf which, by way of preferred exampleonly; are" 9 illustrated two embodiments of this invention. On the drawings:

Figure l is a plan vicwpf-astalk shredder mounted upon a tractorand provided with a he,mmei-"assemblyof the present invention;

Figure 2 is anenlarged fragmentary sectional Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the planes 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 3 illustrating a modified form of hammer assembly of the present invention.

As shown on the drawings: In Figure 1, reference numeral l 0 refers generally to a tractor, such as a Ford tractor, having a tractor energized hydraulic system and laterally extending front axles H supporting front wheels l2 thereon. The tractor front axle is provided with forwardly extending mounting brackets It. The brackets 23 support forwardly extending arms 54 upon which is disposed a stalk shredder 19 indicated generally at l5, the brackets also carrying rearwardly extending actuating rods; it which are connected to the tractor hydraulic system to elevate and lower the shredder [5 from and to working position. The shredder is driven by a 11. sheave l7 disposed upon an engine driven shaft l8 and lapped by a V-belt or the like H! which also laps an idler sheav 2t and a driven sheave ill. The driven sheave 2! is disposed upon a shredder axle 22 which carries a plurality of 50 axially spaced support plates 23 (Figures 2 and 3) along the length thereof in the interior of the shredder casing 24. The plates 23 support longitudinally extending shafts 25 which are ro- 'tatable with the axle 22 about the axle axis, and 5 the shafts each support a plurality of shredder fl hammers 25 which are provided with enlarged apertures '22 which are substantially larger than the shafts 25, so that the hammers are free to pivot about the shaft axis independently of one another.

Cvf course, during rotation of the axle, the hammers 25 will be subjected to centrifugal force which will tend to retain the hammers in their radially outward positions illustrated in Figure 2. However, the enlarged apertures El accommodate radial movement of the hammers, as upon their striking an obstruction preventing their movement with the shaft.

Between adjacent hammers 26, there are disposed spacer elements 738 in the form of helical coil wire springs receiving the shaft 25 axially therethrough and having the axial spring ends seated against facing side portions of the hammer. Between the hammers 2t and the adjacent spacer plates 23, there is disposed a rigid cylindrical spacer collar 2% which also axially receives the shaft 25 therethrough. The rigid spacer collars serve to position the hammers 25 upon the shaft 25 with the hammers being retained against the collars 25% by the compression force of the spring At the same JllllB, the compressibility of the springs accommodates lateral deflection of the hammers illustrated in Figure 3. it will be appreciated also that, Where more than two hammers 2 3 are disposed between adjacent holding plates :23, alternate rigid spacer elements and springs 2d are utilized so that each contacts at least one spring 28.

In the modification illustrated in Figure el, the rigid collars 29 and the springs 23 are replaced by a plurality of leaf-type spring elements 333. The elements 3t comprise a central. web portion. 3% and outurncd terminal ears 32? joined by the Web 3i and apertured to receive the shaft 255 therethrough. Preferably, the entire element 30 is formed of resilient spring steel or the like, although it is possible to form either the ears or the web 55 from resilient material with the remaining portions of the elements being formed of rigid material,

It will be appreciated that the elements 30 serve a dual function, namely to space the hammers from adjacent hammers or from an adjacent plate 23, and to resiliently accommodate lateral deflection of the hammers 26, as illustrated in Figure 4-, with each of the elements 30 contacting a given hammer being deflectable as illustrated. Thus, the hammers 26 being confined between the ears 32 of adjacent elements 30 are free for lateral deflection with the resilient spacers serving to urge the hammers to, and to retain the same in, a central truly radial position.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A hammer assembly for a stalk shredder having a rotatable axle, comprising a pair of axially spaced supportin elements rotatable with said axle, a shaft carried by said elements for rotation about the axis of said axle, a plurality of spaced hammers respectively having enlarged apertures through which said shaft freely extends, and hammer spacing ears having medial apertures, respectively, receiving said shaft therethrough, each of said hammers being snugly interposed between a pair of said ears and in extended surface contact with both of said ears, said ears being inherently resilient and normally extending radially of said shaft to retain said hammers in radial planes, said ears being resiliently deformable to accommodate hammer deiiection and to return said hammers to said radial planes.

FREDERICK D. SAWYER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,505,089 Bailey et al Apr. 25,1950 2,506,054 Agee et al May 2, 1950 

